The battle between St. Gloriana Girls' College (bracket number 10) and Kuromorimine Girls' Academy (bracket number 13) was a match in the semi-finals of the 63ʳᵈ National High School Senshado Tournament. St. Gloriana had fought Yogurt Academy in the quarterfinals and Kuromorimine had fought Continuation High School. The match grounds comprised of desert, a hill, and a waterfront. The match ended in a victory for Kuromorimine Girls' Academy.
Battle[]
Premise[]
This match's contenders were both regulars in the semifinals. For St. Gloriana, Kuromorimine was probably their biggest rival; on the opposing side, Kuromorimine had to make it to the final round to redeem themselves from their defeat during the last tournament facing Pravda.
Worst spy ever.
Just before the match, Darjeeling sent her "master spy" Assam to scout Kuromorimine's ranks to get an overview of which tanks they would be facing.
First moves[]
While Darjeeling advanced in a column toward their opponent. Maho took full advantage of the flat open battlefield and opened fire at 2400 m, beyond their effective range, knocking off some Matildas.
Distraction and reconnaissance[]
Darjeeling sent out Nilgiri and her Cromwell, which threw up a huge cloud of dust that distracted Kuromorimine, permitting some Crusaders to scout the area. Darjeeling eventually discovered her main and only target: Kuromorimine's flag tank standing atop the hill.
Flanking action[]
St. Gloriana's Fierce Fight
A Kuromorimine flanking group composed of Panthers stormed St. Gloriana's right flank. Darjeeling ordered her tanks to act as a bait and pin down enemy tanks as long as possible and kept her Churchill away from battle. After some fierce fighting the flanking force was completely annihilated and the rest of Kuromorimine's tanks were kept busy by St. Gloriana tanks while their Captain sneaked up the hill to the enemy's flag tank.
Final actions[]
According to the intel gathered by Assam, Darjeeling learned that after the former vice-commander transferred, Maho kept her team as far from as possible, so she deduced that the Tiger would be alone on the hill. However, after the previous engagement with Panthers, the Churchill had only two APCBC rounds left.
Tiger vs. Churchill[]
Surprise !!!
Darjeeling used her Churchill's exceptional climbing ability to crest the ridge line to arrive behind the Tiger only to find out the 88mm cannon staring at her, fortunately a combination of both quick thinking and excellent driving resulted in the shot bouncing off the tank's mantlet. It's now a battle between loaders, Maho boasted that her loader could reload in six seconds, but Orange Pekoe loaded her last round much faster than her counterpart. Assam fired, but she barely missed the Tiger's turret ring, causing the shell to bounce harmlessly off the front armor. After destroying the remnants of the St. Gloriana team, the rest of Kuromorimine's tanks took out the Churchill in a spectacular volley.
Aftermath[]
Darjeeling salutes Maho
Even if she narrowly lost the match and her team had been annihilated, Darjeeling didn't feel any bitterness or sadness and greeted Maho with a graceful smile. If only Assam didn't miss her shot, it would have been St. Gloriana that faced Oarai in the finals. Kuromorimine would fight their previous vice-commander Miho's team, Oarai Girls' Academy, in the finals.
Trivia[]
- The battle's outcome is mentioned in Episode 8 when Katyusha gently taunts Darjeeling, saying, "How ironic that you should lose this year against a team we crushed last year."
- A German and British-themed team fighting in a desert environment near a waterfront is a likely reference to the First Battle of El Alamein, where the Desert Rats put a halt to Deutsches Afrika Korps' progression in Egypt.
- Interestingly, the Kuromorimine commander Maho Nishizumi's birthday, July 1, is the same as the start of the First Battle of El Alamein in 1942.
- Assam's attempt to take down the Tiger by shooting the turret ring is a reference to how the Tiger 131 was disabled by a Churchill during the Tunisian campaign on 1943. However, Assam failed to reproduce the exploit, and the shell bounced off.
- Later during the Winter Continuous Track Cup shown in das Finale, both schools compete again in the semifinals.
♦ 
♦ 
♦ 
♦ 
♦ 
♦ 
♦ 
